WKU SPRING PRACTICE 8
FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2013
BOWLING GREEN, KY.
BOBBY PETRINO, BRANDON DOUGHTY, JAMES MAURO, DAMARCUS SMITH
WKU head coach Bobby Petrino
(On Kene Anyigbo joining the WKU football team)
“He actually contacted us the last part of basketball season and had some of our coaches go over and watch him practice. He had talked with his mother and he had some friends that had played in the NFL. We talked to him about playing football and there was interest on his part, so when basketball season was over, we got in contact again and he decided he wanted to give it a chance and see where he is at. We certainly are in favor of it, just to see how he does. He has only had two practices so far. It has been a long time since he has played football, but he is really a great young man and very, very talented. We will see how it plays out. I am excited to see how the next couple of weeks work out for him.”
(On how the team is coming along)
“Obviously not as fast as we would like. We kind of knew it would be that way. We have made improvements. We have made improvement on how to practice and the tempo that we are going to practice at. We are starting to learn the schemes better. But we still need to be better in the details of our technique, the details of our position and playing hard all of the time. We play hard at times, and then fatigue gets us and we lose concentration. Tomorrow will be a good test. We will have a good, long scrimmage and get them tired. It will be hot out, so it will be our first time in the heat. We will see who can do what they are coached to do when they are tired.”
(On how game-like the scrimmage will be on Saturday)
“We always kind of make it as game-like as possible. We will move the ball around and have certain parts of it where the defense has to play its base defense and parts where they can blitz and kind of mix it up a little bit. I am not really interested in the schemes. What I want to see are the players. I want to evaluate the players and see how they do their technique, how they run to the ball, how they block people, how they get off blocks. It is really an evaluation of our players.”
(On the quarterbacks)
“There has been a lot of improvement since we started. I think they are starting to understand some phases of the offense. They are doing a better job with their footwork and getting their body in position on time. That is one of the things that are critical in this offense is that the receivers and the quarterback have to be in synch. Whether it’s a three-step or a five-step drop, or seven, the receivers have to be open on time and the quarterback has to be ready to get rid of it. We are still battling the fact that they are trying to see things too soon and make their reads too soon and the play hasn’t even developed. For the most part we have seen improvement. We just have to keep making it and get better quicker.”
(On Damarcus Smith having some rust during the spring)
“There is a lot [of rust] there. I think it has basically been his technique that has hurt him. When he gets his feet in the proper place and his shoulder aligned, he has a really strong arm and can be accurate. But he has not been consistent yet with his technique and then understanding the offense. It is a two-fold deal for all them. Being able to understand what the play is, picture it in their mind, really know the progression and then get their technique so they can be accurate with the ball. We have gotten better and we have thrown a lot at them. After tomorrow it will be good as we go back and start all over again. Then they will really start to get it and get better into the next couple of weeks.”
(On quarterback James Mauro)
“We got to go back and watch [James] Mauro last year in the second half of the Arkansas State game and he did a really nice job of executing and making a couple of throws for big plays and had some touchdowns. I did get to watch [Brandon] Doughty and Mauro practice in a couple of the practices before the bowl game. It is completely wide open. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. But the one thing I want to make sure is that we don’t make any decisions until we have to and we keep giving them reps and see who is going to continue to get better. If you cut someone’s reps, then the other one gets better and the other one gets worse. There is a huge separation. We are just trying to make it as even as possible with the number of reps they get in practice.”
(On Brandon Doughty and James Mauro adjusting to the new offense)
“Both of them are very intelligent young men and know football, so they probably pick [the offense] up a little more than Damarcus [Smith], who has been out of football for two years. Being exposed to a different offense and being exposed to how you call defenses gives them an advantage because they have been there studying it and working on executing. It might be different plays, but it is the same game. Basically for them it is just learning a new language and then understanding the different timing that we want.”
WKU quarterback Brandon Doughty
(On practice)
“Things are going good. We are making strides in the right direction every day. I’m just trying to learn this offense and perfect the offense, not just learn it.”
(On the difference in this offensive scheme as opposed to last season)
“Coach Petrino has different schemes, but learning a new offense is hard. It is hard work. You have to be in there and do extra stuff and do extra time. The transition has been pretty good.”
(On the importance of spring practice and the time to learn the new offense)
“I think it is pretty good. I think it is very important. It is not just about competition with [the quarterbacks], but it is about commodity with the team and the players and learning the new receivers. We have some kids that are in here trying to learn their moves and all of that different stuff, so it is important.”
(On receivers that have stood out)
“I think the receiving group is kind of up in the air right now. We are trying to focus on this play and this moment, but some of the guys like Willie McNeal have been playing really well. He knows how to get open. He is a veteran and he has had plenty of experience.”
WKU quarterback James Mauro
(On what he is learning from Coach Petrino)
“To play the next play, really. Especially early on in a new offense you are going to make mistakes, but they tell us every day to move on to the next play and try to get better and not make the same mistake.”
(On if all of the new things in the offense have been overwhelming at times)
“It has, but you can’t show that, especially to your teammates or the coaches. But personally, yeah it has been a little overwhelming at times, but once you get over it it’s a good feeling and you get better and are making improvements.”
(On some of the tough aspects of practice)
“[Coach Petrino] is around us a lot. He is critiquing everything. I want to be the best player that I can be, so anything I need to improve on and he can help me with is good.”
(On the strides the quarterbacks are making through three weeks)
“I know I have gotten better. Damarcus [Smith] is a young quarterback and it is his first real spring and he is making real strides from day one. Brandon [Doughty] is a veteran. We have been here for a few years, so as a group I definitely feel like we are getting better. You can see every day and it is only going up from here.”
WKU quarterback Damarcus Smith
(On handling all of the teaching)
“As the days go on I get better and better and get more patient. I started off and it was kind of overwhelming. [Coach Petrino] is very intense and it is the first time in my life I have had some real coaching like this.”
(On what he has learned through two weeks of spring practice)
“Basically we have had to just start from the basics, just getting my fundamentals down. [Coach Petrino] says that I have a lot of raw talent, so I have to just program myself in to just getting the fundamentals down and getting the proper and right technique down for each play and different packages. We really have to start from there.”
(On sitting out two years and returning to the practice field this spring)
“It has affected me in a way that I really don’t want to admit, but I have to shake some rust off and I have been away from the game, so I have to try a little harder. Everybody has had experience at this. At the same time it has also been a positive for me. It keeps me motivated. Going so long without being able to play football, every day that is what I wanted to do. Being able to have this opportunity again, I know I have to go out and get better every day and just appreciate the chance to be out here with this team.”
(On learning from Brandon Doughty and James Mauro)
“It has been great for me with Brandon [Doughty] and [James] Mauro already having years of experience, especially Brandon being the veteran of our group. Those guys, they help me every day. It is just a genuine relationship that we have built from having to be with each other every day. I get to be able to listen to them every day and they teach me little things. As a player and as a quarterback you can still learn a lot from the players, rather than the coaches. They actually have that game experience of actually being in a game. It is easy to pick off of them and pick their brains a little bit.”
